Fern Lakes burglary suspect found outside home after manhunt

A suspected burglar who fled a Fern Lakes home armed with a stolen weapon was arrested last night outside his home, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Javon Vincent Winston, 19, joined alleged accomplice Brandon Thomas Warren, 18, in sheriff custody after witness accounts and investigation interviews led the office to his Lawton Street home just before 8:00 p.m. last night, said Master Sgt. Jason Covington.

The unidentified 17 Fernlakes Dr. homeowner said he observed two black men entering the subdivision — located off Burnt Church Road — at around 1:00 p.m. as he was leaving the neighborhood, according to the sheriff’s office. When he returned about an hour and a half later, he found the two in his back yard reportedly carrying items — include firearms — out of the home and placing them under a tree.

The two bolted when confronted, but Winston managed to escape through a nearby pond while Warren apparently couldn’t swim, according to the sheriff’s office. The homeowner grabbed one of the weapons stockpiled outside and detained Warren while waiting for law enforcement to arrive, Covington said, adding he doesn’t know how the suspects managed to locate the guns or why they chose this particular house.

Deputies believe all but one of the handguns stolen have been recovered, but they’re initiating a search for the missing weapon in the pond through the office dive team.

Both men are also suspected in the Oct. 29 burglary of a home in the Meadowbrook subdivision of Bluffton, when a shotgun was stolen but later recovered Nov. 10 after Winston accidently shot himself in the foot, said Lt. Joe Babkiewicz of the Bluffton Police Department. Winston phoned police himself but claimed someone else had accidentally shot him and had taken the gun, which was found placed behind a fence, Babkiewicz said.

Winston wasn’t detained at the time because police didn’t know the weapon was stolen, but they’re now awaiting the results of a serial number trace to confirm the connection, Babkiewicz said, adding Meadowbrook is under sheriff’s office jurisdiction.

The two are charged with first degree burglary, but the sheriff’s office says additional charges are likely as the investigation continues.